Pete Wells

1 week ago | nzherald.co.nz | Pete Wells |Robert Simonson

The ice-cold Cuban cocktail is revered by bartenders. So why don’t they sell more of them? Bar Kabawa, the East Village cocktail den connected to chef Paul Carmichael’s new Caribbean restaurant, Kabawa, will provoke a range of reactions, like any new establishment. But for people who like classic daiquiris, the main one will be: where have you been all our lives? Outside Cuba, where it originated, the daiquiri has rarely been treated to such elaborate shows of devotion.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Pete Wells

Every waiter knows the type: the volatile diner who barges in with a list of demands, orders an off-the-menu item that sends the kitchen into a panic and then at the last minute changes his mind and decides he'll just have the steak. So if anybody knows how to handle President Trump's stunning reversal on tariffs, it's people in the restaurant business. Still, it's safe to say that they've had a rough week.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Pete Wells

The quirky tasting counter behind Roberta's pizzeria mixed low-key vibes with high-stakes cuisine. Victoria Blamey, left, and Carlo Mirarchi of Blanca. The restaurant, which opened in 2012, is closing. Credit... Blanca Blanca, the Brooklyn tasting counter that since 2012 has served rarefied and highly individual cooking under the glassy stare of a taxidermic tuna head, will close at the end of the week.

3 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Pete Wells

LOS ANGELES – A retro-futuristic diner is rising on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Curved, silvery and flanked by two outdoor film screens, it looks as if a flying saucer sailed out of a 1950s drive-in movie and came to rest in the carpark. An opening date has not been announced, but Tesla’s all-night diner, theatre and charging station is clearly on its way. Which means the multinational automotive and clean energy company’s leader, Mr Elon Musk, is about to enter the hospitality business.

4 weeks ago | nzherald.co.nz | Pete Wells

Tesla is building a diner in Los Angeles that Elon Musk has described as “Grease meets Jetsons with Supercharging”. Photo / The New York TimesTwo years ago, the Tesla leader and Doge chief began to build a diner and drive-in theatre in Los Angeles. Then he became a political lightning rod. A retro-futuristic diner is rising on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.